Glutathione and its related enzymes in the small intestinal mucosa of rats: effects of starvation and diet.

Starvation for 24 h causes a striking fall in glutathione content from 3.19 +/- 0.27 to 1.88 +/- 0.14 (X +/- SEM) mumol/g tissue and of GGT activity from 31.75 +/- 4.17 to 19.49 +/- 3.13 (X +/- SEM) nmol/min/mg protein in the homogenate from whole mucosa of the upper small intestinal segments. This was associated with a significant increase in GSH-Px activity and the content of lipid peroxides (measured by the thiobarbituric assay). On semi-synthetic iron-supplemented diet the activities of GSH-T and GGT were significantly decreased as compared with crude diet. On semisynthetic iron-depleted diet GSH-T and GGT activities were further depressed, but this was accompanied with an additional depression of GSH, glutathione reductase (GSSG-R), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities and lipid peroxide concentrations. Food deprivation significantly lowers the mucosal GSH-content and could lead to a destabilization of this system presumably by increased oxidative stress. As compared to normal "crude" diet, semisynthetic diets and oral iron depletion have been shown to cause a depression of the intestinal GSH system. As a consequence of these effects, the resistance of the small intestinal mucosa toward exogeneous dietary toxins might be reduced.